To be honest, I'm not a Sigma fan (returned several primes because of back/front focus issues) ! The kitlens on my Canon died so I ended up buying this one for a price I couldn't refuse. I was pleasantly surprised; sufficiently sharp wide open and very good as from f4. Af is near silent but a bit slow. If you can get a good copy, this is good value for money.

Feb 10, 2012

guybrushOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jun 2, 2011Location: United KingdomPosts: 0

Review Date: Jun 2, 2011

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9

Pros:

Small, Cheap, Very good image quality for the price

Cons:

Slow to autofocus in low light, build quality is a bit hit and miss, quite soft wide open

I bought this lens as an upgrade to the Canon EF 18-55mm without having to go all the way for one of the f2.8 lenses.

This lens fit the bill perfectly, it had enough features over the Canon, faster focussing, wider apertures, built in hood, no rotating front on zoom/focussing which allowed me to fit a circular polarizer on the front.

I use this lens primarily for portraiture work at smaller apertures, f5.6 onwards and it performs brilliantly. I am a bit hesitant at using it at f2.8 on 18mm as the corners are a quite soft and there is a fair bit of distortion and CA.

I find that at wide open past 20mm it is acceptable.

Jun 2, 2011

maurittaOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Aug 4, 2002Location: United StatesPosts: 0

Review Date: Dec 1, 2010

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9

Pros:

Price, the fact that the barrel does not move during focusing, build quality is very good, 2.8, stabilization that works.

Cons:

soft at 2.8, needs closing down to 4.0

This is a jewel of a lens, I use it on my CanonTl2, its light effect, for the money, a joy to use.

Dec 1, 2010

Kevin SandersOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jun 4, 2010Location: United KingdomPosts: 5

Review Date: Aug 26, 2010

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10

Pros:

Cheap, light, IQ, sharpness

Cons:

No FTM

This is a very decent walk-around lens. I use it on my SD14 in conjunction with it's stablemate, the 50-200mm f4-5.6 DC OS HSM.

My ratings are based on the market sector and price, not compared to megabuck Canon 'L' glass. I use those on my 5D, but the SD14 and this lens are for making pleasing still life and landscape images which the Foveon sensor is very good at.

The image quality is remarkable for such a cheap lens and I'm more than happy with it. The stabilisation is effective, allowing shake-free shots down to 1/15 second.

Yes, there are some distortion and aberration issues when you look at the test results in reviews, but from a practical point of view this is a great little lens and a worthy upgrade from the kit lens.

It is acceptably sharp wide-open and has given me some excellent images.